Inside the Blue Jays:
Defending AL East champions will face choices after season
Team loses David Price but makes upgrades to help satisfy its baseball-crazed city.
Ross Atkins has not been in his new job or living in his new country for very long.
But the Toronto Blue Jays general manager has quickly learned Canada has fallen in love with baseball again. The team and the nation reconnected in a big way last season when the Blue Jays made the playoffs for the first time since 1993.
After ending what was then the longest current postseason drought in the majors, the American League East champions rallied from a 2-0 deficit to beat the Texas Rangers in a best-of-five AL Division Series before falling to the eventual World Series champion Kansas City Royals in six games in the AL Championship Series.
“The enthusiasm is so incredibly high for the Blue Jays,” said Atkins, who was hired Dec. 3 after working for the Cleveland Indians for 15 years. “Not just with the great fans in Toronto and Ontario but all throughout Canada. What I’ve found out since coming here is that the Blue Jays truly are Canada’s national team.”
That is not to say that Atkins steps into an easy situation.
Mark Shapiro replaced retiring Paul Beeston as Blue Jays team president at the end of the last season after serving in the same role with the Indians. But GM Alex Anthopoulos turned down a five-year contract extension offer and left the organization because he felt he no longer would have autonomy in making decisions.
That left many fans angry because Anthopoulos, a native Canadian, had made a number of bold moves.
He acquired third baseman Josh Donaldson from the Oakland Athletics in an offseason trade; Donaldson was the AL MVP. Anthopoulos then dealt for Colorado Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki and Detroit Tigers left-handed pitcher David Price in late July.
Atkins inherits an offensive powerhouse. The Blue Jays led the majors in runs with 5.5 per game last season and return their lineup intact.
“It’s a very exciting team,” Atkins said. “We’re going to score runs. The key will be run prevention. We feel like we’ve upgraded our pitching staff. ... And if we are able to prevent runs, then there is no reason why we shouldn’t be successful again.”
Where the Blue Jays stand at each posi-
tion (*prospect):
►Catcher: The Blue Jays paid a steep price when they signed Russell Martin to a five-year, $82 million contract as a free agent after the 2014 season, but the Canadian native belted a career-high 23 home runs and drew rave reviews for his work with the pitching staff. Martin turns 33 on Feb. 15, but he stays in excellent physical condition and possesses the athleticism to play other positions. Josh Thole will be the backup, and his strong point is the ability to catch knuckleballer R.A. Dickey. Longtime prospect A.J. Jimenez is out of minor league options, so this will could be a makeor-break spring training for him. Veteran Humberto Quintero was signed to a minor league contract to add depth.
Depth chart: Martin, Thole, *Jimenez, Quintero, *Derrick Chung.
uFirst base: Chris Colabello, who spent his first seven professional seasons in the independent Can-Am League, was a big part in the Blue Jays’ success in 2015 after being claimed off waivers from the Minnesota Twins. While Colabello beat the odds to get to the major leagues, Justin Smoak, the Texas Rangers’ first-round draft pick in 2008, was considered an underachiever until last season, when the switch-hitter had a career-high .768 on-base-plus-slugging-percentage (OPS) in 328 plate appearances after being acquired from the Seattle Mariners in a trade. Journeyman Casey Kotchman will be in spring training as a non-roster player but hasn’t played in the major leagues since 2013.
Depth chart: Colabello, Smoak, Edwin Encarnacion, Kotchman, *Matthew Dean.
uSecond base: Devon Travis was off to a fine start in his rookie season until being slowed by left shoulder injury. He had surgery in September to drain a cyst and likely won’t be able to resume full baseball activities until April. Ryan Goins is expected to be the opening-day starter after filling in for Travis last season. The Blue Jays have depth at the position as they re-signed Darwin Barney, who won a National League Gold Glove with the Chicago Cubs in 2012, and Maicer Izturis, who missed last season because of right shoulder surgery, as
free agents. Barney or Izturis likely will spell left-handed-hitting Goins against lefty starters.
Depth chart: Goins, Barney, Travis, Izturis, *Andy Burns.
►Third base: Donaldson was everything the Blue Jays hoped for in his first season with the team. Beyond the gaudy statistics, he became a team leader and fan favorite with his breakneck style. He also showed a flair for the dramatic with three walk-off home runs. Donaldson is under club control for three more seasons, but a concern is his relationship with the Blue Jays might become frayed as he is expected to go through a salary arbitration hearing for a second consecutive winter. Matt Dominguez provides insurance after being claimed off waivers from the Milwaukee Brewers in September, but he has a .649 OPS in 1,357 plate appearances over four seasons.
Depth chart: Donaldson, Barney, Dominguez, David Adams, *Mitch Nay.
►Shortstop: Tulowitzki had a .697 OPS in 41 games for the Blue Jays, but his acquisition, which came two days before the Price trade, gave legitimacy to the effort to try to win the AL East. The Blue Jays were 50-50 when they dealt for the five-time All-Star, then went 43-19 the rest of the way. Tulowitzki, 31, should help anchor the lineup for years — especially important with Encarnacion and Jose Bautista eligible for free agency after the 2016 season — as he is signed through 2020 with a club option for 2021.
Depth chart: Tulowitzki, Barney, *Jio Mier, *Jorge Flores, *Richard Urena.
►Left field: The Blue Jays are betting on a full comeback by Michael Saunders after he was limited to nine games because of a severe bone bruise in his left knee. He was acquired from the Mariners the previous winter. Toronto opened a lineup spot for Saunders by dealing Ben Revere to the Washington Nationals for relief pitcher Drew Storen in January. Saunders has disappointed throughout his career with a .682 OPS in seven seasons, but the Blue Jays think the injury-prone 29-year-old Canadian has upside. Saunders likely will sit against most left-handed starters, with right-handed Colabello moving to left field and Smoak starting at first base.
Depth chart: Saunders, Ezequiel Carrera, Junior Lake, *Dwight Smith Jr., *J.D. Davis.
►Center field: A 32nd-round draft pick from Division II Cal State-Dominguez Hills in 2011, Kevin Pillar reached the major leagues two years later and blossomed into a regular last season. Pillar became a staple on the highlight shows with his spectacular catches and proved to be an adept basestealer as he was successful on 25 of 29 attempts. He hit 12 home runs, and the Blue Jays think the 27-year-old might develop a little more pop. The Blue Jays have depth at the position with veteran Carrera, promising youngster Dalton Pompey and Darrell Ceciliani, who made his major league debut with the New York Mets last season and had a whopping .978 OPS in 255 plate appearances at hitter-friendly Class AAA Las Vegas.
Depth chart: Pillar, Carrera, Pompey, *Ceciliani, *Roemon Fields.
►Right field: Bautista has become one of the game’s premier sluggers since being acquired from the Pittsburgh Pirates late in the 2008 season. Bautista has hit 243 home runs in 962 games for the Blue Jays with a .922 OPS. The Blue Jays will have a tough decision to make when it comes to resigning the six-time All-Star because he is 35 and seemingly will enter the decline phase of his career in the not-too-distant future.
Depth chart: Bautista, Carrera, Lake, *Ceciliani, *Sean Hurley.
►Designated hitter: The Blue Jays are in the same situation with Encarnacion as they are with Baustista as the 33-year-old’s contract expires at the end of the year. Since arriving in December 2010, Encarnacion has hit 197 home runs in 839 games with a .876 OPS.
Depth chart: Encarnacion, Bautista, Colabello, Donaldson, Martin.
►Starting pitchers: Price turned out to be a successful rental as he went 9-1 with a 2.30 ERA in 11 regular-season starts before signing with the division rival Boston Red Sox in December. While Price’s departure left the Blue Jays without a true ace, they are confident in their rotation depth. Marcus Stroman, 24, has the stuff, smarts and guts to lead the staff after making an amazing recovery from major knee surgery in March. Dickey is 41 but has pitched at least 2082⁄ innings in each of the last five
3 seasons. Marco Estrada had the best season of his career last year after the Blue Jays acquired him from the Brewers in an offseason trade, and they are banking on a repeat as they re-signed him to a two-year, $26 million contract. Toronto made the first significant free agent move of the offseason, giving left-hander J.A. Happ a three-year, $36 million deal. A number of pitchers will audition for the fifth starter’s spot in spring training, including Aaron Sanchez, Drew Hutchison, Gavin Floyd, Roberto Osuna, Roberto Hernandez and Jesse Chavez. Sanchez is the favorite.
Depth chart: RHP Stroman, RHP Dickey, RHP Estrada, LHP Happ, RHP Sanchez, RHP Hutchison, RHP Floyd, RHP Hernandez, RHP Scott Copeland, LHP Wade LeBlanc, RHP Brad Penny, LHP Scott Diamond.
►Bullpen: Osuna, as a rookie closer last season, converted 20 of 23 save opportunities with a 2.58 ERA in 68 games for the Blue Jays. Storen has a longer track record, despite being displaced as the Nationals closer. He has been successful on 95 of 116 save attempts with a 3.02 ERA in six seasons. Left-handed setup man Brett Cecil has sub-3.00 ERAs in three consecutive seasons, and Aaron Loup is a solid second lefty. Steve Delabar will try to regain the form that made him an All-Star in 2013.
Depth chart: RHP Storen, RHP Osuna, LHP Cecil, RHP Chavez, LHP Loup, RHP Delabar, RHP Bo Schultz, RHP Ryan Tepera.